1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supporting tool and more particularly to a supporting tool which may preferably be used in a bathroom or other room as a supporting bar to be gripped by elderly people, handicapped people, and their care providers so as to support their bodies and also to be used as a handrail to help such people walk and move around the room safely; and a method of installing the supporting tool on a wall or other surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 15A is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional supporting tool. A supporting tool 1 is used as a supporting bar to be held in a person's hand to support his/her body in a bathroom or other room. Ordinarily, the supporting tool 1 is installed on a wall surface W of a bathroom when a house is built. The supporting tool 1 includes a base plate 2. A supporting bar body 3 projects from one main surface of the base plate 2. The supporting bar 3 comprises a supporting member 3a projecting from the base plate 2 at approximately a right angle therewith and a grasping member 3b formed at the leading end of the supporting member 3a and grasped in the person's hand. The supporting tool 1 can be used as a handrail by disposing the long grasping member 3b along a walking path. The base plate 2 of the supporting tool 1 is installed on the wall surface W of the bath room by means of an anchor bolt 4, with the base plate 2 in contact with the wall surface W. In this case, a joist S is mounted at the rear of the wall surface W. In the case of the supporting tool 1 shown in FIG. 15A, the joist S is made of a concrete block. Cement mortar is applied to the surface of the joist S, and the cement mortar is covered with a tile T.
One end of the anchor bolt 4 is fixed to the joist S by screwing it into the joist S through the base plate 2 of the supporting tool 1 and the tile T of the wall surface W. The base plate 2 is fixed to the wall surface W by tightening a nut 4a positioned at the other end of the anchor bolt 4 on the base plate 2. The one main surface of the base plate 2 is covered with a decorative flange 5 to cover the other end of the anchor bolt 4 and the nut 4a.
In the above example, instead of the anchor bolt, screws or nails may be used to fix supporting tools 1 to the wall surface W. The joist S shown in FIG. 15B is made of wood. A board which is commonly referred to as a composite panel is bonded to the surface of the joist S. Cement mortar is applied to the surface of the board. The cement mortar is covered with a tile T. The supporting tool 1 is fixed to the wall surface W by means of a wooden screw 6 tightened into the joist S.
FIG. 15C shows a case in which the supporting tool 1 is installed on a wall surface W of an FRP of a built-in bus (unit-bus). In this case, the joist S into which a bolt or the like is screwed is not mounted inside the wall surface W. Thus, in order to install the supporting tool 1 on the wall surface W, it is necessary to fasten the supporting tool 1 by means of a bolt and nut at both sides of the wall surface W through an iron plate or the like.
FIG. 16A is a sectional view showing another example of a conventional supporting tool. The supporting tool 6 is installed at a corner of a bath tub B without forming a hole in the bath tub B to avoid water leakage. The supporting tool 6 includes a base plate 7 having an approximately U-shaped cross section. The base plate 7 is installed on the corner of the bath tub B by fitting the corner of the bath tub B into the base plate 7. A screw 8 installed on the side wall of the base plate 7 is tightened through the base plate 7 and the wall of the bath tub B. In this manner, the wall of the bath tub B is sandwiched between the leading end of the screw 8 and the inner surface of the base plate 7 having the approximately U-shaped cross section.
When it is necessary to install a conventional supporting tool as shown in FIGS. 15A through 15C in a bathroom as a supporting bar or a handrail several years after a house is built, a hole must be formed in a wall of the bathroom with an expensive special drill. Because tiles are slippery and easily broken, professional skill is required to make the hole in the tile at a desired position. Thus, it is necessary to have a professional person do the supporting tool installation work, which makes the cost of the installation work high. There are occasions when even the professional person must make holes in order to check whether the joist S is mounted at a position where the supporting tool 1 is to be installed. Further, if the joist S is made of wood, it may have rotted. In this case, the supporting tool 1 cannot be installed with a desired stability even though the anchor bolt 4 is tightened on the joist S. Moreover, the supporting tools 1 as shown in FIGS. 15A through 15C require a hole to be formed on an installation surface. Therefore, it is impossible to install the supporting tool 1 on the bath tub B without causing water leakage. For the reason described above, it is difficult for a user to install the conventional supporting tools at a desired position. In addition, for the reasons described above, there is a possibility that the professional person will not accept a request for the installation of the supporting tool 1 if the request is made several years after a house is constructed because of the potential for excessive damage caused by the installation.
Moreover, the supporting tool 6 as shown in FIG. 16A cannot be installed on the corner of the bath tub B if the thickness of the wall at the corner is changed greatly. Furthermore, if a floor F is continuous with the upper surface of the bath tub B, as shown in FIG. 16B, the supporting tool 6 cannot be installed on the corner of the bath tub B because the thickness of the corner is too large.